


Sensationally Different

by ailaikclarke



Category: Riverdale (TV 2017)
Genre: Cheryl Blossom Needs a Hug, Cheryl is the queen of the world, Enemies to Friends to Lovers, F/F, choni
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-05-20
Updated: 2019-02-05
Packaged: 2019-05-09 13:13:53
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 7
Words: 5,278
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14716734
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ailaikclarke/pseuds/ailaikclarke
Summary: Cheryl Blossom: Northside Queen.Toni Topaz: Southside Serpent.Two completely different people, from two different worlds, coming together as one, to face the world's most terrible nightmares.ORCheryl and Toni are unbreakable even when they're separated. Their strength and unwilligness to give up combined can make them survive anything.Even a kidnapping.





	1. Ma Chérie

**Author's Note:**

> I binged Riverdale and finished it way too quickly and now I am starving.  
> I need more Choni scenes in my life.

_“No doubts, no more fears, I see you shine and the dark disappears.”_

Cheryl breathed hard, the song lyrics floating around her, like water lilies in a deep pond. She closed her eyes, a single tear running down her cheek.

Love songs never seemed to make sense to her. Not because she had never loved anyone, but because all those words seemed so unnecessary in a world of broken promises and heartless demons.

She had loved Jason. Her beloved JJ. Taken away from her way too soon, her only brother, who died because he was too good to be a Blossom.

She had loved Heather. A young love, like those they talk about in movies, a careless love. One she discovered when she still believed her mother could care about her, like all the other mothers did. She was taken away from her too soon, just like her brother. She believed Heather was still alive, but she couldn’t be sure.

With her eyes closed, she listened to the song she had tried so hard to avoid. She realized it made her think of something.

Or rather, of someone.

_Antoinette Topaz._

The girl she had despised from the beginning, feeling sick at the idea of having Southside scum in her school. The girl who had later comforted her when her world was crumbling. The girl who had been her safe place when everything felt like sharp knives on her skin. The girl who saved her from conversion therapy. The girl who kissed her when the only emotion she seemed to be feeling was despair.

Antoinette Topaz.

But don’t let her hear you when you use her full name, she might run you over with her motorcycle.

Toni Topaz.

The girl who made her understand that there was something else. The girl who helped her understand that she was loved. The girl who made her feel like she belonged, and like she was enough. The girl who had never tried to change her, but accepted her in everything she was.

Cheryl had no trouble admitting to herself that she loved Toni.

She knew she did.

She’d known for a long time.

The only problem was that she couldn’t say those words out loud, because saying it to Toni would make it real.

And making it real meant having it taken away.


	2. Leather

“Everything looks good on me.”

Toni smiled. “That is very true, but this red Southside Serpents leather jacket is the bomb.”

Cheryl tried hard to hide the smile forming on her lips. “Thank you, darling.”

Toni smiled again before going back to her notebook. They were sitting together in the cafeteria, Cheryl was busy with an old book she had found in the library, while Toni was “finishing the homework I totally remembered to do yesterday”.

Weeks had passed since Cheryl had gained the leather jacket, but Toni still felt a rush of pride hit her right in the chest whenever she saw her girlfriend wear it.

Yes, girlfriend.

Cheryl had been the first one to pronounce that word in public, almost casually, while talking to Betty and Veronica.

_“So, Cheryl, it’s time for one of our parties.”_

_“Elizabeth Cooper, sweet cousin, this is not something I’d expect coming from you. This is usually Veronica’s motto.”_

_“I need a distraction while I think about the whole becoming a Serpent ordeal.”_

_“What is there to think about?” Cheryl asked, genuinely curious to hear what was bothering Betty._

_“I honestly don’t know.”_

_“If you’re worried about being a woman and a Serpent at the same time, you can stop. My girlfriend and I both are women Serpents, and we’re fine.”_

_Toni had almost chocked on her muffin and Veronica had laughed for probably twenty minutes._

_Cheryl had pretended not to notice but for a moment, just a moment, she felt scared. Scared because she wasn’t thinking when she said that word, it simply came out. Scared because what if Toni didn’t see her as her girlfriend?_

_The fear only lasted a moment, because before Cheryl could say anything, Toni spoke._

_“I know what you’re thinking.”_

They ended up throwing that party, with Cheryl now able to offer her house. It ended up being a disaster, as per usual. Way too many people showed up, and way too much alcohol was consumed, ending with Archie in Cheryl’s bathtub, Betty sleeping in the garden, Josie casually laying down on the stairs with Valerie on top of her, Jughead running around at 4 a.m. because he couldn’t find Betty, Toni asleep while sitting at the kitchen counter and a worried Veronica in the morning asking everyone if they’d seen Cheryl.

 **Veronica Lodge** [11.12] Cheryl? Where r u?  
**Veronica Lodge** [11.14] Did u disappear?  
**Veronica Lodge** [11.18] We’re literally at ur house

Too scared to find an answer, she waited with a hungover Betty and a sore Archie for her to come back. When Toni finally woke up, she asked about Cheryl, and then was the one to actually remember where she might have been. Turns out Cheryl had had a drinking competition with Sweet Pea that ended with the both of them passed out in her bedroom.

Sweet Pea had Cheryl’s leather jacket on his face, shielding him from the non-existent sun, while Cheryl was wearing Sweet Pea’s jacket like a blanket. Cheryl was sprawled on her bed, while Sweet Pea had his head on the bed, and the rest of his body on the floor. When they found them, both Toni and Veronica tried hard not to laugh.

“Cheryl, baby, wake up.” Toni said, still trying not to laugh.

Cheryl slowly opened her eyes, looking around, and risking a heart attack when she saw Sweet Pea’s head next to her.

“Had too much to drink?” Veronica asked.

“Stop screaming!” Cheryl mumbled. “Why are you screaming at me?”

“Blossom! Stop yelling, fuck!” Sweet Pea said. He then looked at her for a moment. “Did we fuck?”

“Did we what? Are you joking?” Cheryl asked, her eyes wide.

“Well, you know, we’re here, together, you’re hot…”

Cheryl fake vomited. “No, no, no. You’re being weird. We had a vodka drinking competition last night.”

“Also, her girlfriend is standing right in front of you.” Veronica said, pointing at Toni.

He looked worried for a moment. “Oh, sorry Toni.”

“It’s okay, and she doesn’t belong to me.” Toni smiled. “Plus, I wouldn’t worry about me, but rather about her.”

He turned around and wasn’t surprised to see fire in Cheryl’s eyes. “I’m sorry, Red. I should have known you’d never fuck me. Now, give me back my jacket, so that I can give you this terrible red one.”

“J’adore your finesse, Sweet Pea.” Cheryl said, handing him his jacket.

He smiled at her before getting up and running downstairs, with Veronica following him.

“How are you feeling?” Toni asked, sitting next to Cheryl.

Cheryl sighed. “Like a million bucks.”

“You did drink quite a bit.” Toni said, pointing at the bottles scattered on the floor.

Cheryl was quiet for a moment. “Toni, it’s true, I don’t belong to you. I don’t belong to anyone but myself.”

Toni nodded.

“But not belonging to you doesn’t mean that I would go around and sleep with other people. I am with you, exclusively.”

Toni smiled tenderly at her. “I know, that’s why I wasn’t worried when Veronica and I walked up to your bedroom. And I could tell that Veronica and all the others feel the same, not that I care.”

“What do you mean?”

“You know, someone tells you that your girlfriend slept in her bedroom with another person. Normally, someone would freak out, and the people around them would be weird. Like, you know that feeling when you can tell that other people are worried about something that doesn’t really concern thenm? I told them you were probably passed out in your bedroom after the drinking competition with Sweet Pea and nobody gasped, nobody made weird faces.”

“That’s probably because they’re scared of me.”

“I don’t think so.” Toni said. “They know how good you are. They know you would never betray the people you care about.”

 

 

 


	3. Chaos

**Jughead Jones** @ _serpentking_

Please @c _herylbombshell_ , come and get @ _chacha_ or I might just kill her

**Cheryl Blossom** @ _cherylbombshell_

_Replying to @serpentking_

Sorry @ _serpentking_ , you keep her.

**Betty Cooper** @ _bettydrew_

Careful @ _serpentking_ , @cherylbombshell owns a bow and knows how to use it

An afternoon in Thistlehouse, Betty and Cheryl sharing their moments of silence. Both Jughead and Toni were busy with some kind of school project that they were doing together, leaving the two of them alone. Veronica was meant to join them, but was making them wait. The usual, late, Veronica.

“Cheryl, you’re being weird.” Betty said.

Cheryl put down the book she was reading. “What are you talking about, sweet cousin?”

Betty hesitated for a second. “You’re pulling an old Cheryl.”

“Are you telling me that I am being me?” Cheryl asked, a confused expression on her face.

“No, you’re behaving like you used to.”

Cheryl was still feeling confused. “Like what?”

“You’re hiding something and pretending like everything’s fine, when it clearly isn’t.”

Cheryl grabbed her book and gave Betty a final look. “I don’t know what you’re talking about.”

Betty sighed. “Is everything okay with Toni?”

“Of course it is.” Cheryl replied, almost offended.

“What’s wrong, then?”

Cheryl shook her head. “Nothing’s wrong.”

“Stop lying to me.”

This time, it was Cheryl’s turn to sigh. “Oh my God Nancy Drew, can we go back to when we both pretended not to care?”

“We never pretended not to care, Cheryl.”

There was a moment of silence followed by Cheryl breathing hard. “I’m afraid Toni might be taken away from me.”

“You what? Are you serious?” Betty asked.

Cheryl nodded wordlessly.

“Cheryl… Why?”

“Because I care about her and everyone I care about either dies or is taken away from me.”

“Don’t do this to yourself.” Betty replied. “I know that you’re not used to being happy, but you deserve this. You deserve happiness. You deserve love. You deserve a family that loves and supports you.”

“I might be the one ruining it.”

“Care to elaborate?”

Cheryl sighed. “You know my family, it’s what we do.”

Betty shook her head. “You’re not like them.”

“I am a Blossom.”

“Not like them.”

“Blossom blood is like poison. We are cold as ice, heartless and unpredictable, like wildfires.”

“Yes, you are a Blossom but, technically, so am I. You do have Blossom blood, but you have one thing that they don’t have. You have a heart and I know you’d never hurt someone you care about.”

“You think so?”

“You know how to be mean, and cruel sometimes, I’m not here to deny it.” Betty said, and Cheryl found herself smiling. “But you also know how to love and how to care for people, you’ve proven it many times.”

“Happiness is a really confusing concept to grasp.” Cheryl admitted. “Plus, not having to worry about my hideous mother is making life rather boring.”

“We live in Riverdale, Cheryl. Don’t worry, you’ll have something to take care of soon enough.”

 **Bombshell [3.17]** Darling, please do not bother Jughead too much. **  
Ma Chérie [3.18]** It’s so much fun tho **  
Bombshell [3.21]** Can you come over later? **  
Ma Chérie [3.22]** Everything alright? **  
Bombshell [3.27]** Yes, everything is alright. I need to talk to you about something. **  
Ma Chérie [3.27]** Well, that’s reassuring. Baby, you okay? I can come over now if u need me. **  
Bombshell [3.32]** Oh, chérie. I appreciate the offer, but I promise I am alright. Betty and I are        reading in the sun. **  
Ma Chérie [3.33]** Alright, then… I’ll be there once we’re done    **  
Bombshell [3.52]** Here is a bomb selfie Betty forced me to take  earlier. You’ll see I am fine. ****  
Ma Chérie [3.55] You sure look fine!

“You’re right.” Cheryl said. “It’s been quiet lately.”

“Awfully quiet, yes.”

Of course, Riverdale couldn’t be quiet for too long.

And when sunset came, Cheryl started to worry about Toni not being there yet.

 **Bombshell [7.21]** Darling? Where are you?  
**Bombshell [7.24]** Did you get drunk with Sweet Pea again?  
**Bombshell [7.56]** Should I be worried?

 **Cheryl Blossom [8.10]** Sweet cousin, are you with Toni?  
**Cheryl Blossom [8.24]** Why is everyone ignoring me?

 **Red [8.31]** Sweet Pea, are you with Toni?  
**Sweet Pea [8.33]** Nope, y?  
**Red [8.33]** She was supposed to come here, but I haven’t seen her yet and she’s not answering her phone  
**Sweet Pea [8.35]** I’ll go talk to Jug  
**Sweet Pea [8.38]** He said she left at 6.30

And then Cheryl knew.

Something had happened, and her happiness was about to be ruined.  



	4. Destruction

She took a deep breath and forgot for a moment what was going on.

She was being paranoid.

But Toni wasn’t with Jughead, nor with Sweet Pea. And she wasn’t answering her phone.

Not that Cheryl had called her fifteen times. (It was eighteen).

She found herself pacing back and forth in Thistlehouse, compulsively checking her phone, making sure she wouldn’t miss a call from Toni.

Or Betty, for that matter.

What was going on?

She felt like she was meant to go and look for Toni, but where would she go? She had called Jughead, who had told her that Toni had left at six thirty, claiming she needed to see Cheryl. She had already driven her car from Archie’s house to Thistlehouse multiple times, in case something had happened to Toni while she was driving to Cheryl’s house.

No sign of accidents.

She had called everyone on her contact list, asking about Toni, asking if they’d seen her somewhere. She knew something had happened.

When her phone finally went off, her heart genuinely stopped for a moment, because the number on her screen was her mother’s.

“Mother.”

“Cheryl, dear child, we have your deviant serpent friend.”

“I don’t believe you. Let me talk to her.” Cheryl said, secretly hoping her mother wouldn’t let her. She was hoping it was a joke.

A sick, terrifying joke.

“Of course.”

“Cheryl, don’t do anything they ask you to.” The panic in Toni’s voice made Cheryl shiver.

“I will find you, Toni. If it’s the last thing I do.” Cheryl quickly said. “Are you alright?”

“I’m fine but, please, don’t do anything stupid.”

Penelope snatched the phone from Toni’s hands. “She destroyed you, and now she’s going to pay, just like that girl Heather.”

“You said she disappeared.”

“She did.” Her mother replied. “Only this time we’re going to have a little more fun, because you’re being a nightmare child and you have to pay for everything that you’ve done to your uncle Claudius and I.”

“You don’t scare me, mother.”

“Maybe I don’t, but what about a picture of your friend’s chopped off finger? Will that scare you?” Penelope said, and Cheryl could her Toni screaming behind her. “Maybe I can send you the finger over at Thislehouse.”

Before Cheryl could say anything, Penelope hung up the phone. She felt a rush of anger get over her, but panic quickly took over.

Her mother had Toni.

And Cheryl knew she was ruthless.

She felt like her heart was going to explode, with all that anger and panic mixing together. She didn’t know what to do, her mother had threatened to hurt Toni, but what could she do to stop her?

She had to find her and she needed all the help she could get.

She grabbed her car keys and ran to her Impala. She drove like a maniac to the Whyte Wyrm, where she found Fangs, Jughead and Sweet Pea talking together.

Sweet Pea was the first one to notice the terror in her eyes.

“Red, what happened?” He asked her as he walked to meet her. “Are you okay?”

“My mother.” Cheryl began, not fully trusting her voice. “My mother has Toni.”

The three boys were quickly by her side. “What?”

“She took her and called me saying that she ruined me and she needs to pay.” Cheryl explained, her voice trembling. “I can’t lose her.”

“You won’t.” Sweet Pea replied. “We won’t.”

“Any idea of where she might have taken her?” Fangs asked.

Cheryl shook her head. “I got emancipated and I stopped caring about where she was.”

“Can’t blame you on that.” Jughead commented. “We’ll call the serpents for help and we will search every inch of this place.”

Cheryl nodded. “I know we’ll find her. And I will put an arrow through my mother’s skull.”

Jughead looked at her. “I won’t stop you.”

“Me neither.” Sweet Pea commented.

“I’ll talk to the Serpents, we’ll start immediately.” Jughead said. “You should try and call either Betty or Veronica and have them come with you.”

“I’ll text Betty.” Cheryl replied. “I think we’ll start at where Thornhill used to be.”

Jughead nodded before walking back inside the Whyte Wyrm.

Sweet Pea looked at Cheryl for a moment before engulfing her in a bone-crushing hug. “We’ll find her.”

Cheryl tried hard not to cry, but she couldn’t hold it in anymore. She cried for what felt like an eternity before taking a deep breath and letting go.

She grabbed her phone while she watched Fangs and Sweet Pea joining the Serpents.

 **Cheryl Blossom [9.42]** Betty, I’m at the Whyte Wyrm, can you please come here? My mother kinapped Toni and is currently threatening to hurt her.  
**Betty Cooper     [9.42]** I’ll be right over. We’ll find her, Cheryl, I promise.  
**Cheryl Blossom [9.43]** Can you please call everyone you can think of and ask them to come help? We need as many people as we can possibly find.  
**Betty Cooper     [9.44]** Of course.

Cheryl waited by her car, watching the Serpents getting ready to look the whole town for Toni. She was glad she had all those people who cared about Toni around her. It made her feel more powerful. Before everyone got on their bikes, Cheryl cleared her voice.

“Thank you all for helping me with this.” She began. “I know you all care about Toni and feel a tremendous anger towards my mother but I need whoever finds her first to call me immediately, because I need to be the one to deal with my mother. I want her to suffer, because hurting me is one thing, but nobody should dare to even lay a finger on my girlfriend.”

 

  



	5. I'll End You

The roar in the Serpents’ bikes made her feel powerful.

They all left, willing to drive all night long around Riverdale to find Toni.

Cheryl waited a few minutes for Betty and the rest of her friends to show up and, when they did, she jumped in her car and started the engine.

Soon, Kevin, Moose, Valerie and Archie where in her car as she drove to where Thornhill used to be. She had sent Betty, Veronica and Josie to Sweetwater River, while desperately hoping to find Toni safe and sound.

Kevin was holding her hand as she drove, a thing she would normally hate, but it seemed to be comforting.

She still wasn’t used to having friends, but she was glad she did.

They got to Thornhill and they searched the grounds, but nobody seemed to have even walked on those remains in months.

Cheryl would sometimes drive there and spend some time where Jason’s bedroom used to be, because it made her feel close to him. Of course it was a pile of burnt wood and ashes, but it still felt right.

“Nobody’s here.” Archie announced after a while.

Cheryl sighed as she walked towards her car. She almost had a heart attack when her phone went off, and trembled as she grabbed it.

“Hello?”

“Cheryl, I’m pretty sure we found her.” Betty said on the other end of the line.

“Where are you? Is she okay?”

“We’re at Sweetwater River. We can’t really see her, but I’m pretty sure it’s them.”

“We’ll be right there.”

She hung up her phone and resumed her walk to the car. “They found her.”

Driving from Thornhill to Sweetwater river felt weird.

The last time she’d done it, was when she had tried to kill herself. The time before that, was when Jason drove the two of them on that damned fourth of July.

Those two times, it brought death.

She was hoping that this time would bring life.

Once she parked the car, they ran to where Betty had told her they were. She had her bow secured on her back and she had made sure to bring as many arrows as possible.

One of them was going to end up in her mother’s skull.

She got shivers the moment she saw Sweetwater river.

Flashbacks of the last time she’d seen Jason haunted her, but she shrugged them off.

Her mother was standing next to her uncle Claudius, and Toni was on her knees, with her hands tied behind her back. Cheryl ran towards them, a single arrow in her hand.

“Are you okay?” She asked, looking at Toni. She didn’t even acknowledge the presence of her mother, too worried about her girlfriend.

Toni nodded.

Cheryl looked at her mother. “Let her go, now.”

“She needs to pay.” Penelope spat.

“The only one who needs to pay is standing right in front of me.” Cheryl said, pointing her bow at her mother. The arrow trembled against her fingers. “I’ll end you.”

Claudius groaned, making Cheryl look at him. She realized he was holding a gun. “Shoot that arrow, and I’ll shoot her. In the head.”

Cheryl tightened the grip around her bow. “You touch her and I’ll have the serpents torture you for so long you’ll beg to be dead.”

“They can torture me, but are you ready to see her brain splattered on the ground?” Claudius said. “Is torturing me going to make you feel any better, or will you live the rest of your life knowing that she died because of you?”

Cheryl grimaced at the thought. “You’re sick.”

“Maybe you’ll try to end your life once again.” He whispered.

“Making fun of people who suffer because of love is something I never expected, not even form you.” Cheryl replied. “

“Let us go.” Penelope said. “Or she dies.”

Cheryl stared at her. “Let her go, or you die.”

Penelope looked at her for a moment before nodding towards Claudius. She then walked towards Toni and untied the knots behind her back. Cheryl felt her anger building up inside her chest and realized that her hands were trembling.

She watched her mother untying the knots, feeling rage boiling inside her blood.

She closed her eyes.

She took a deep breath and opened her eyes.

She quickly pointed her bow at her mother and released the arrow. As her mother screamed in pain, she heard the deafening sound of a gun going off and Toni’s cry. 


	6. I Shot to Wound

Cheryl was panicking, the sound of Toni’s cry had made her blood freeze in her veins. She opened her eyes and looked at her girlfriend, who was clutching at her leg, looking in pain. Before she took a step forwards, Claudius stopped her.

“You should have let us go.” He said.

She narrowed her eyes at him. “You can go.”

“If you take one step forward, I’ll shot her in the head.” He said. “I’ve aimed for her leg, but this was a warning.”

Cheryl stood frozen where she was. She couldn’t take her eyes off Toni, and the blood gushing out of the wound.

She looked over at her mother, who was clearly thinking about taking the arrow out of her arm. She looked in pain, and Cheryl couldn’t help but feel satisfied.

“Let us go.” Cheryl demanded. “And remember that I only miss when I mean to.”

“Maybe we can stay here for a bit longer.” Her uncle whispered. “Wait for her to bleed out and die.”

Cheryl felt the fire building up inside of her. “I will end you.”

“A long, painful death.” He continued. “Because of you. Will you ever be able to forgive yourself?”

She wasn’t going to let that happen. Toni wasn’t dying. Watching her close her eyes in pain was hard enough, and Cheryl was desperately hoping that her girlfriend would be okay.

“If she dies, you’ll beg me to kill you too.”

“You think I’m afraid of you?” He asked, tilting his head.

Cheryl smiled, secretly thanking her uncle’s dumbness. He saw her as a child, capable of doing nothing. Except that she wasn’t a child. She was a person, made ruthless by the terrible family she had been given. She thought about her father, about the video she’d seen. She thought about how heartless he had to be to put a bullet into his own son’s head. She thought about her mother, about all the times she’d treated her with cruelty instead of with the love a mother should bear for her children. She thought about her brother, the only light in a family of devious monsters.

“You should be.”

She was quick.

Quicker than he thought she could be.

A second arrow flew from her bow, hitting Claudius right in the hand holding the gun. He screamed in pain, letting the gun go. Cheryl placed a third arrow in her bow, pointing it directly at his head. “Go, before I change my mind.”

Claudius seemed to think about it for a second, but Penelope forced him to walk away. “You’re a nightmare child.”

Penelope and Cheryl shared a look before the older woman turned around and ran away, Claudius by her side.

Once they were far away from the gun, Cheryl ran and grabbed it before running to where Toni was.

“Tt, are you okay?” She asked.

“Not really.” The pink-haired girl whispered. “You were so badass, though.”

“Not the time, Toni, not the time.”

The serpents had seen that Claudius and Penelope had ran away, so they came rushing to help them. FP grabbed Toni and carried her to Cheryl’s car and, together, they drove to the hospital.

“I’m sorry, Tt.” Cheryl said as she drove.

Toni was laying in the backseat. “It’s most definitely not your fault. You saved me.”

“You were in danger because of me.”

She couldn’t help but notice the pain Toni tried hard to keep inside her throat. Cheryl could hear it in her voice, and in the way she was breathing.

Toni shook her head. “I was in danger because your mother is a psychotic bitch. No offence.”

“None taken.” Cheryl smiled. “You’ll be okay.”

Toni inhaled sharply. “I know.”

Cheryl realized that her hands were shaking. She trusted her abilities with her bow and arrows, but Toni’s life had been at stake. She felt grateful for all the time she’d spent training, because it made rescuing Toni possible. Still, she felt like they’d been lucky.

They got to the hospital shortly after, and Cheryl drove directly to the entrance. The serpents had gotten there before she did, so a couple of doctors were already there, waiting for them. They rushed Toni inside, and Cheryl got to tell her how much she loved her before she was taken away.

When they brought Toni to the operating room, Cheryl felt lost.


	7. Sensational

She knew Toni was going to be okay.  
She waited for hours, pacing back and forth in the waiting room, with way too many people around her.   
She was cursing her mother and uncle for creating the situation that was causing so many issues. She was angry at her mother for always trying to punish her, for trying to make her right.  
Cheryl knew that her mother had the image of what a perfect child should be like burnt in her mind. She also knew that she wasn’t that perfect child.  
She was never going to be enough for her mother, but it didn’t matter anymore.  
What mattered was that Toni was hurt, and Cheryl needed her to be alright.

“Here.” Betty whispered, handing her a cup of freshly made coffee. “I figured you might need one.

Cheryl breathed hard. “Thanks, cousin.”

“How are you holding up?”

“I’m okay.” Cheryl whispered. “I need Toni to be okay, too.”

Betty pursued her lips. “I know it’s pointless and you don’t want to hear it, but she’s going to be okay.”

“I know.” Cheryl smiled faintly. “I know.”

Everything started moving in slow motion when the doctor came to talk to her. He explained how the surgery had gone and how everything seemed to be perfectly fine. He told her that Toni was going to recover and that she could go see her. Cheryl felt like she was properly breathing for the first time in hours.   
She followed the doctor to Toni’s room. 

“She just woke up, she might be a bit loopy.” He explained. 

She nodded, thanking him before walking closer to Toni. “Hey.”

The brunette smiled at her. “Hey there.”

“How are you feeling?”

“Like I was just shot in the leg.”

Cheryl sighed, shooting her a warning look.

“I know, you’re right.” Toni continued. “It was at least three hours ago.”

The redhead closed her eyes. “I love you.”

“I know you do.” Toni whispered. “You’re always telling me that you do.”

“Sometimes I fear you might forget.” Cheryl whispered. “Because I know what that feels like, and it sucks.”

Toni grabbed her hand to hold. “The way you look at me is enough to know that yours aren’t just words. I don’t think it’d be possible for me to ever forget how much you love me.”

“I’m glad.” Cheryl smiled. “I don’t think I’d ever let you forget that I do.”

“You do know that I love you, right?”

Cheryl hesitated. “Of course.”

“You don’t seem too convinced.”

“I know you do.” Cheryl replied. “I only wish you didn’t.”

Toni furrowed her brows. “And why is that?”

“Look at you.” Cheryl said. “You were shot today. Because of me.”

“Stop.” Toni warned. “I was shot because you come from a family of psychopaths, not because of you. It is not your fault if your mother and uncle are some kind of weird murderers.” 

Cheryl was silent for a moment. “I really do.”

“You turned out fine, though.”

“What do you mean I turned out fine?” Cheryl asked. “I turned out great.”

Toni smiled at her. “I hope you’re not planning on going after them.”

“I am not.” Cheryl replied. “I was going to.”

“What changed?”

Cheryl was silent for a moment. “I don’t want to be like them.”

“You’re nothing like them.”

“I’m a bitch.” Cheryl whispered. “I can be mean and hurt people when I want to. I just really don’t want to be like them.”

Toni smiled. “You were unlucky in the family department. Extremely unlucky, but you managed to make it better somehow.”

“Jason was the only good one. He was the only one I actually cared about. He was always telling me how we were going to change what being a Blossom meant. We were going to be different. We were going to be better.” Cheryl explained. “When he died, I was afraid I’d never get to experience what love meant. Or what having a loving family meant. I guess I created my own family, with you and the rest.”

“We all love you.” Toni whispered. “We are the most unlikely family to have ever walked the streets of Riverdale, but we’re great.”

“We really are.” Cheryl whispered. “We’re sensational.”

“Oh, we’re not. You’re sensational.”

 

 


End file.
